A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for use as portable signs or indicators, for example, as traffic or construction barricades.
B. Problems in the Art
In today's society the number of automobiles continues to increase, as does the number of miles and sophistication of roadways. As a result, the need for maintenance and repair of such roadways has increased, as has the need for temporary traffic control signs to alert and direct motorists through, for example, construction zones.
Safety is a primary concern. This concern is directed not only to motorists but also to repair and construction persons at the site. There are numerous examples of accidents occurring in construction zones. Therefore, making motorists aware of the construction, as well as clearly marking out the construction zone, to physically distinguish it from the correct path of travel, are significant concerns to governments, construction companies and motorists.
There are currently a number of traffic barricades in use. Conventional, long-used types include a metal legged device, hinged at the top, having wood or metal horizontal panels with stripes; sometimes reflective stripes. Advantages of this type of device include the ability to fold it down for easy handling and storage. It also is relatively stable, but many times sand bags or other ballast is used to try to secure it is place against wind or brushing by vehicles. A significant disadvantage is its weight (wood and metal parts), its durability, and its susceptibility to damage as well as the risk of creating serious damage to vehicles. There are also "A-frame", saw horse type devices that use two A-shaped side frames and an elongated board there between.
Another type frequently used are barrels, painted or otherwise having striping or high visibility and/or reflective indicators around the vertical sides. Disadvantages include the amount of space they consume when stored or transported, the difficulty in handling, and the difficulty in securing them in place outside on the road. Their durability is also limited.
In more recent times, attempts at addressing some of the above-mentioned problems have been made. For example, the use of plastics as increased. Also, there have been uses of high visibility webbed fences, single vertical tubes, and spring-loaded vertical panels attached to bases. However, each has certain problems and deficiencies.
For example, use of fencing is not feasible for large distances, such as miles of highway construction. It would simply take too much fencing to be economical, or practical from the standpoint of transport and handling.
The use of the vertical tubes or posts is sometimes deficient because they are relatively small and therefore lack visibility. The same is generally true of traffic cones.
The use of spring loaded vertical panels improves visibility over vertical narrow tubes, but they must be attached to a larger base. Therefore, to have both spring loading to return to a normal position if struck, and have sufficient ballast to withstand wind and impact, they are difficult to store compactly and thus handle efficiently. The vertical panel may be removed from the base, but it usually requires tools and labor to both assemble and disassemble. Many require the use of sand bags or other ballast to help hold them in place.
Therefore, the following considerations are believed to come into play with traffic barricades. First, there are safety concerns; namely the barricade must have as much visibility as possible, both in day and night, to catch motorists' attentions. It also must adequately instruct the motorist to follow a certain authorized path or obey certain rules. This can be done by indicia on the barricade (words or symbols) or simply by their physical placement along the road. Therefore, it usually must have a relatively significant amount of area to communicate such information to the motorist, and can not be a simply a slim tube or the like.
Second, ease of handling, storage, set up and take down is important. Stackability and reduction of size for shipment and storage is preferable. However, the ability to quickly and easily assemble and disassemble is also important, preferably without tools.
Third, durability is an advantage. Wood and metal have inherent durability problems, not matter how carefully handled. Durability is relevant not only to how well the barricade stands up to the elements, such as rain, freezing, heat, wind, etc., but also to how well it can stand both minor and major impact by vehicles traveling at highway speeds. Wood or metal either break or can be damaged beyond repair.
Fourth, flexibility is a subtle but important consideration. Many barricades work well for one purpose or function, but are not adaptable, or do not work well for another. For example, there are Department of Transportation regulations which define the types of traffic signs and barricades that are indicated for certain situations. Some of the regulations pertain to the size and area of the indicators, such as whether one panel or two, the size of the panel(s), etc. Others apply to the configuration of the barricade, for example, a barrel versus a vertical panel versus fencing. Most existing barricades work for one situation only, or at least are not easily adaptable for several situations. In this specification the term vertical sign will be used to refer to various sign types, shapes, sizes and configurations, including those that are planar and stand vertical. This can include, but is not limited to, Types I, II and III DOT barricades, as well as what is conventionally known as a "vertical panel" barricade. Also, in this specification, the term barrel will be used to refer to drum type barricades.
Also, there is a need in the art for stable, resilient, durable, portable signs for a variety of uses. An example is "for sale" signs used by realtors for houses. They are needed for limited periods of time and are reused. Storage in a collapsed form is desirable for space considerations. Portable or temporary signs for other applications which improve over the state of the art are needed
There is therefore a real need for an improvement in the art. It is therefore a principle object of the present invention to provide a portable sign or barricade which improves over or solves the problems and deficiencies in the art.
Further exemplary objects and features of the present invention include:
1. The ability to provide high visibility and adequate instructions to, for example, motorists to promote safety.
2. The ability to reduce in size for efficient stacking for transport, storage, and handling, including the ability to be assembleable and disassemblable quickly and easily without tools.
3. The ability to be durable in outdoors conditions, over the extremes in temperatures and weather, as well as to resist damage from minor forces as well as major forces.
4. The ability to be applied flexibly to different needs and situations, including the ability to have interchangeable signs or barricade types.
5. The ability to eliminate substantially the need for independent ballast such as sand bags to resist wind and impacts.
6. The ability to be made completely of recyclable materials.
7. The ability to be made of a minimum number of pieces without complex structure.
8. The ability to be manufactured, handled, transported, and stored efficiently and economically.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent with reference to the accompanying specification and claims.